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JUNE 2007 --- Bible scholar and liberal
theologian Malcolm Lancaster reported this week that new
archeological findings have revealed that Demas, described in
scripture as a worldly apostate, wasn’t such a bad guy after
all. “We’ve felt all along that Demas got a bum rap from the
Apostle Paul, and the latest excavation has proven our case,” says Lancaster, a member of the Jesus Seminar.
According to Lancaster, fragments from an ancient ruin
buried in Greece contain evidence which seem to indicate
that Demas never left the ministry, but merely left Paul’s
missions staff to start a seeker-sensitive megachurch in a
suburb of Thessalonica. Demas’ church was called “My Big Fat
Greek Church,” and was known for its radical lyre band
and Greek chorus, plush coliseum seating, and ample chariot
parking. In addition, Demas appears to have written a
best-selling scroll titled “Your Best Goat Now,” and coined
his ministry’s catchphrase, “Discover the Zeus in You.”
Among the artifacts uncovered at the site was a wall mosaic
which experts believe depicts Demas hanging out with Bonocus, a
hip musician of the day, at an ecumenical event
to encourage dialogue between Christians and Isis
worshippers for the sake of world peace.
“Demas had a real knack for engaging the Hellenistic culture
for Jesus and drawing thousands of people to his services,” Lancaster
stated. “If you want to call that ‘loving the present
world,’ then fine. But if you ask me, Paul was just jealous
of Demas' successful ministry.
That’s why you can’t take everything Paul wrote as gospel… so
to speak.”
Lancaster and his colleagues are anxious to discover more
evidence that further challenges Paul’s insinuation that Demas was focused on transitory things that
soon pass away. However, this could take several years because, as Lancaster explains,
“The artifacts from his life are crumbled into little pieces and buried under
centuries of dirt.” |
